Because of my sizing error I can't really comment on the last or fit beyond that. However, sizing up is definitely not advised, as I'm forced to wear the heaviest-cushioned socks that Darn Tough makes in order to take up the extra room. I will say that the boots are a fairly good fit width-wise, so I am not sure if I personally would size down due to the lack of a wider size option. In hindsight, I absolutely should have sent them back, but being new I did not know how to tell if the boots actually fit me. Which means that the boots are pretty too large on me. Having much more experience now, I know that my brannock size is actually 10EEE. Despite the general advice available on the internet to go either a half or full size down, I went ahead and ordered size 11EE boots. I knew that I wore size 11EE sneakers, and had for the past few years. At the time, the Kats were priced at $230, and I bought them during one of LL Bean's frequent sales, paying a total of $185.65 for the pair.Īt the time that I ordered the Kats I did not know my brannock size. LL Bean is a major retailer so the ordering process is very standard: easy checkout process online, generally decent shipping times, free returns for members. I ordered the Kats on LL Bean's website in October of 2015 (yes, that means this is really more of a 3.75 year review, sue me). However the color and finish of the leathers is different, and the Kats were available for a lower price, in addition to being backed by the LL Bean lifetime guarantee - which was more recently changed due to abuse - and these factors were both huge advantages in the favor of the Kats. ![]() The LLBean-branded Katahdin Plain Toe boots are similar to the Chippewa Service Boots in appearance and construction. However, for those with a keen eye for quality, they do have some drawbacks which are understandable given the price point. Regardless of the use case, Chippewa has a generally decent reputation. For those in professions involving a large amount of manual labor, these boots (and their sister captoe variant) were often competing with Thorogoods as general-use work boots in fields such as construction or skilled trades. Looks - simple, classic styling that works well with any Workwear or Americana style of clothing.ĭurability - Much more rugged and well-built than most cemented-construction footwear.įrom a fashion stand point, these boots are a common first pair for many redditors: They show up in inspiration albums on /r/malefashionadvice, and sales on these boots often drew the attention of /r/frugalmalefashion. ![]() Price Point - Ranging from less than $100 on sale, up to ~$300, making them a cheaper alternative to Red Wings. This status is primarily due to three factors: This generation of the Katahdin engineer boots was made by the well-known footwear brand, Chippewa, who are one of the more common choices for entry-level GYW footwear. But I also wanted to post about them to discuss the recent change that LL Bean has made, which I consider to be a change for the worse. This review is mainly prompted by the fact that they've been laying around my garage caked in mud for a few weeks, and I recently got around to cleaning them up. Yes, that really is one hell of a mouthful of a name, so naturally I like to shorten it and just call them my Kats. In my case, that would be my pair of the Chippewa x LL Bean Katahdin Iron Work Plain Toe Engineer Boots. ![]() For my first actual review post to /r/goodyearwelt I thought it would be a good idea to review my actual first pair of GYW footwear.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |